Dr Elizabeth Bradford
RGGS student 1951-1953
Dr Elizabeth Bradford (1937-2021) attained notable achievement in her professional career in science and was the first woman to graduate from the ANU (Australian National University) with a PhD in Physics. Her thesis was on proton reactions in light nuclei.
Following her time in the United Kingdom at the Hartwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment. Dr Bradford returned to Australia to work for several years at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in the Division of Plant Industry. At this point in her career, she realised that theoretical nuclear physics was not her interest, and instead moved to the Applied Mathematics Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) in New Zealand, where she stayed until the early 1990s.
Dr Bradford then moved to the New Zealand Department of Fisheries analysing fisheries data. By the time Dr Bradford reached 65, she realised that to progress further would require some formal statistical study or retire.
In 2002, Dr Bradford chose to retire and was living in Wellington, New Zealand. She spent her time in retirement studying New Zealand’s flora and flora and did courses on classical Greece and Rome.
Dr Bradford passed away on 11 September 2021. In the words of one of her ANU colleagues, Professor Bryan Robson: “What she achieved was important. She showed it could be done.”